


Why did you stay?

by garseeya



Category: Disney - All Media Types, Disney Princesses, Elsamaren - Fandom, Frozen (Disney Movies), Frozen - Fandom
Genre: Culture & Heritage, F/F, Family Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:00:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25223533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/garseeya/pseuds/garseeya
Summary: Their time spent harvesting berries has always provided a space for Elsa and her son, Idun, to bond and speak freely  On this particular outing, Idun asks Elsa a question that hits particularly close to home.Submission 1 for ElsaMaren Summer 2020 based on the prompt, Culture and Heritage.Hope you enjoy!
Relationships: Elsa/Honeymaren (Disney)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 32
Collections: Elsamaren Summer 2020





	Why did you stay?

“Mommy, why did you choose to move to the forest instead of staying in the castle?” Idun inquired as he and his mother, Elsa, gathered berries to take back to camp. Harvesting was one of many of the skills Elsa and Maren chose to teach their son and as such, the activity had become a weekly ritual Elsa and Idun shared. Harvesting was a way in which the two could give back to their community - their tribe. They were Northuldra after all - the People of the Sun - and they were strong and proud; resilient and Indigenous through and through. 

They were protectors and stewards of the land. They were keepers of the old ways and had a responsibility to preserve their ways of being, not only their fellow tribesmen, but for the land, their ancestors, and generations to come. As such, continuing traditional ways of life through maintaining practices like harvesting berries, were of critical to maintaining not only their way of life, but the continuation of their culture. Because of this, Elsa and Maren made it a point to immerse their son in practices of the sort, wanting him to know the importance they held while reaffirming in his mind the pride and tradition he carried within himself as an Indigenous person. 

“Thats easy, son,” Maren who had just returned from a hunt said, speaking up in her wife’s place. “Your mom got one look at me and said, ‘To hell with the castle!’, tossed your Aunt Anna the crown, and high tailed it on out here to bunk with me,” she finished, a smug grin plastered on her beaming face. 

“Ew, gross...” Idun muttered. “I don’t know why mom would give up chocolate cake on a platter every night for well...” Idun said, looking his Mom up and down, as he thought back to his previous visit to Arendelle “... well you...”

Fuming at the response, Maren retorted, “Listen here you little shit...”

“Okay, thats enough you two,” Elsa interjected through a laugh. “Well you see, Idun,” Elsa began, “My mother, your Grandma Iduna, was Northuldran. However, unlike you, me, and your Mom, she was forced to hide who she out of fear.” 

“Fear?” Indun inquired.

“Well,” Maren began, glancing at her wife, who nodded for her to continue. “You see son, our people have not always looked upon favorably by the people of Arendelle. Some saw us as strange because of how we rely on the land and speak to the spirits. They don’t understand our way of life and their fear of us has sometimes driven them to a place of hatred for our people.”

“But why would they be scared of us just because we live differently than them?” Idun questioned. Having been back and forth between Arendelle and the Enchanted forest his entire life, Idun was well aware of the differences between the two places and the people that resided within each but couldn’t make sense of how or why those differences could result in hate. 

“Sometimes when people don’t understand things, they push it away. They let their fears and prejudices get the best of them and act out in ways that are unkind,” Elsa explained. “When that happens, it makes the people who are on the receiving end of those prejudices feel unsafe and sometimes they feel the need to hide who they are or blend in just to make it through the day alive.”

“Alive?”

“Yes, son. Alive,” Maren said, a solemn look on her face. “In the past, and even in recent times, there have been horrible acts of violence committed against Northuldran people by Arendelleans. Sometimes its because they think we are less than, and other times, they try to make it seem like we brought it upon ourselves; like we deserved it.”

“Thats terrible...” Idun stuttered. 

“It is, and while things have gotten better since your Mommy and then Aunt became queen, there is still a lot of prejudice out there,” Maren said grimly. 

“I see...” Idun sighed, a concerned frown growing on his face. 

“Its because of those prejudices that Grandma Iduna felt the need to hide who she was when she was in Arendelle,” Elsa explained, setting her basket of berries on the ground as she sat, ushering her son to come sit with her.

“It wasn’t always like that for her though,” Maren explained as she moved to sit across from her wife and son. “Your Grandma Iduna once lived here among us. In fact, her mom and my grandma were good friends. Their kids, including your Grandma Iduna, would play and go to ceremony together and everything! From what I understand, your Grandma Iduna loved being Northuldran very much and was quite proud of who she was and where she came from.”

“Its just so unfair that she had to hide that when she got to Arendelle...” Indun remarked, sad at how hard it must have been for his Grandma Iduna to leave her tribe and way of being behind. 

“You’re right, sweetheart, it was” Elsa said, wrapping her arms around her son in a warm embrace. “No one should have to hide who they are. So you see son, the reason I decided to move to the forest is because I wanted to honor my mother’s memory by learning what it meant to be Northuldran. I never had the opportunity to learn from her because she was deprived of the opportunity to share... but you see, she called me here, and to Atohallan, and when she did that and I arrived, I knew it was her way of telling me I was home... and I felt it.”

“Atohallan...” Idun whispered.

“Yes, son,” Maren replied, placing a hand on her wife’s knee. “In our culture, Atohallan is the keeper of knowledge and memories; its home to the spirits and our ancestors. It is a sacred place.”

“And mommy is a spirit so thats why she felt at home?”

“Well, that,” Elsa giggled as she placed her hand on top of Maren’s, “and for other reasons. But all that’s to say, the I ultimately chose to stay here instead of in Arendelle is because I wanted to learn about my Northuldran heritage; our culture. I wanted to unapologetically embrace it and live it and be proud of it and so thats what I did. When I fell in love with your Mom, that desire was strengthened and luckily for me,” Elsa said as she moved to meet Maren’s eyes, “your mom is one of the kindest, most patient, and most knowledgeable people I have ever met. She has taught me so, so much... both about the Northudran way of life and life in general.”

Blushing, Maren gave Elsa’s hand a gentle squeeze, offering her a soft and loving smile as she listened to her wife continue. “And then when we learned that by the grace of Atohallan, we would be having you, it just further reaffirmed in my mind that I was in the right place; I was home and I knew... we knew, we wanted to do everything in our power to raise you to be proud to be Northuldran; to be Indigenous.”

Meeting Elsa’s eyes and then Maren’s, Idun took a minute to gather his thoughts. “Well, I think you made the right decision, Mommy,” the seven-year-old stated matter of factly, “and I hope you and Mom and Grandma Iduna all know that I am so proud to be Northuldra!”

“Is that right now, son?” Maren said, her face lighting up at her son’s declaration. 

“Yeah it is!” Idun chided. “I am going to keep working hard and learning as much about our culture as I can that way I can teach other people about us so they aren’t afraid. This way people won’t be cruel to us and no one will ever feel like they need to hide who they are ever again,” Indun concluded, a look of fire and pure determination in his eyes, a light flurry of snow beginning to form over his head in response to his sudden burst of emotion. 

“Well then,” Maren said through a proud smile as she quickly stole a glance at Elsa’s equally beaming face. “Your Mommy and I have complete faith in you, son,” she concluded, reaching out to ruffle her son’s hair. 

“And we are so, so proud of you,” Elsa said, as she pulled her son in to a warm embrace. 

“Thank you, Mommy. I am proud of you and Mom and Grandma Iduna too!”

“You’re such a sweet boy, Idun. Now what do you say we get these baskets of berries back over to camp. I am sure Great Grandma Yelana is wondering where they are right about now,” Elsa grinned. 

“You’re right! I’ll go take them to her right now!” Idun declared, picking up his and Elsa’s basket of berries before running off towards camp. 

“So then...” Maren said, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen over her and Elsa in their son’s absence. “You mean to tell me I was‘t the reason you moved here?” Maren grinned, a smirk plastered on her face. 

“Ugh, Maren...” Elsa groaned as she rolled her eyes. 

Maren chuckled as she got up off the ground before leaning over and planting a gentle kiss on her wife’s forehead. “Come on love,” she said, hand extended for Elsa to take, “lets go.”

Smiling, Elsa took her wife’s hand, rising from the ground before the two made their way back to camp, trailing their son ahead. Her hand still intertwined with Maren’s, Elsa gave it a gentle squeeze, letting out a small, content hum as the pair walked in relative silence, the wind the only sound to be heard. As the breeze blew past her face, Elsa could have swore she heard it carry a faint yet familiar melody, welcoming her home.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this from my perspective as a reconnecting Indigenous person. I infused some of what I have heard elders of my Nation discuss as reasons why they or their ancestors felt the need to hide who they were and how they, and myself for that matter, have come to embrace their heritage. Please note, being Indigenous is not one monolithic experience and the experiences infused in this story are specific to what I have learned on my own journey. I encourage you all to listen to the Indigenous folks in your life when they share what being Indigenous means to them and what their journeys have looked like. There is a lot to learn!


End file.
